Tours out of Ho Chi Minh City and across Vietnam
Southern Vietnam
Down the delta to where the country runs out
Ca Mau is the last province of Vietnam, and the land at its tip is still being made: mangrove pushes out into the sea a little further every year.
Overview
A trip to the end of the map
Most visitors turn round at Can Tho. South of it the delta becomes Khmer country around Soc Trang, then salt and shrimp ponds around Bac Lieu, then mangrove. At the very bottom, the Ca Mau cape is a national park of mangrove and mudflat where the country simply stops, marked with a monument and a lot of photographs of people standing beside it.
It is not a trip with famous sights. It is a trip about the delta changing mile by mile, about Khmer pagodas with roofs curling like flames, about river towns that see few foreigners, and about the particular satisfaction of reaching the end of something. The roads have improved a great deal and newer expressway sections have cut the time south of Can Tho, although some stretches are still being built and times vary.
- Length
- 5 days, 4 nights
- Can Tho to Ca Mau
- About 3 hours
- The cape
- Mangroves, boat and walkway
- Return
- Flight from Ca Mau or a long road
- Style
- Private, with guide
Nights
Where you sleep
Day by day
Day by day
Day 1
Saigon to Can Tho
The orchard island by bicycle
Pick-up at 07:30, three to three and a half hours on the expressway, lunch in Can Tho, then an afternoon on an orchard island. Early to bed.
Day 2
Cai Rang, Soc Trang and Bac Lieu
The wind turbines standing in the tidal shallows at dusk
The boat leaves at 05:30 for Cai Rang, a market that has shrunk as roads have taken its trade but still works at dawn. After breakfast we drive an hour and a half to Soc Trang, where a large share of the population is Khmer, to see a Khmer pagoda with its monks’ quarters and a Chinese temple built largely of clay.
Another hour takes us to Bac Lieu in the afternoon. We visit the house of the wealthy family whose extravagant son became a southern legend, and drive out at dusk to the wind turbines standing in the sea off the coast.
Day 3
South into the mangroves
The mangrove channels in the last hour of light
We leave at 08:00 for Ca Mau city, around an hour and a half, then carry on south towards Nam Can and the river mouths. The last part of the journey is by road or by boat depending on the water and the state of the newer road; either way, you arrive in the early afternoon in a landscape of channels, stilt houses and shrimp ponds.
After a rest we take a small boat into the mangrove channels at the end of the afternoon, when the birds come in and the heat drops.
Day 4
The Ca Mau cape
Standing at the southern tip of Vietnam
An early start to reach the national park at the cape in the cool of the morning. A walkway runs out through the mangroves to the monument and the view of mudflats and sea on two sides. Your guide explains how the land here grows as silt settles among the roots. We have lunch on the fish and crab the area is known for.
In the afternoon we head back north to Ca Mau city, stopping at a charcoal kiln or a honey-collecting family in the forest depending on the season. The evening is at the Ca Mau riverside market.
Day 5
Back to Saigon
Seeing the whole delta from the window on the way home
Ca Mau has a small airport with flights to Saigon of about an hour, on a limited schedule. When the flight suits your day, you are back in the city by early afternoon. When it does not, we drive back, which currently takes roughly six to seven hours, with lunch in Can Tho.
Price
Price
| Travellers | Tier 1 — simple | Tier 2 — comfortable | Tier 3 — the good ones |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 travelling | from 595 | from 745 | from 1130 |
| 4 travelling | from 490 | from 610 | from 925 |
| 6 travelling | from 440 | from 550 | from 835 |
Five days of car and guide is the largest part of the price, so groups of four or six pay much less each. Hotels south of Can Tho are simple at every level and the tier difference is modest. The flight home, where it runs on your date, costs more than the road and saves most of a day.
Included
What is included
What the price includes
- Private car and driver for five days
- English-speaking guide throughout
- Boats at Cai Rang, around Nam Can and at the cape
- Four nights in hotels or guesthouses with breakfast
- Lunches every day except the last, and one dinner at the cape
- National park entrance and drinking water
- Economy flight Ca Mau to Saigon when the schedule allows
What it does not include
- Other dinners, drinks and tips
- Travel insurance and visas
- Personal spending
- Changes caused by weather on the water, which we rebuild with you
Practical
What to expect on the ground
December to April is dry and the best time for the mangroves and the roads. The rest of the year is workable, with afternoon storms that can make the boat sections wet and slow. The far south is hot and humid in every month; a hat, long light sleeves and insect repellent for the mangroves matter more here than anywhere else in the delta.
The guesthouse near the cape is basic: clean, with a fan or air-conditioning and a private bathroom, but no more. English is rarely spoken south of Can Tho, which is part of why the trip needs a guide, and part of its appeal.
Not for everyone
Who this does not suit
This trip does not suit anyone who needs the landscape to change dramatically: it is five days of flat, green and water. It does not suit travellers who dislike simple rooms, or those who want to swim, since the sea here is brown with silt. And it is the wrong use of five days on a first Vietnam trip under three weeks.
It suits people who have seen the famous places and want the part of the country where Vietnamese travellers go and foreigners rarely do.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Is the road to Ca Mau good now?
Much better than it was. New expressway sections south of Can Tho have cut the time, though some parts are still being built and times vary. We give you current times when we quote.
Can we fly back from Ca Mau?
Usually, yes, but the schedule is limited and not every day suits. When it does not, we drive back and warn you in advance.
Is the cape itself worth the effort?
The monument is a photograph. The mangroves around it, and the journey there, are the real reason to go.
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